Donut Falls Hike

Em, mom and I went on a hike to Donut Falls today. It's up Big Cottonwood Canyon, and is a pretty easy hike. I mean, kids in diapers were "hiking" it. Once you get to the actual falls, though, it can be kind of tricky climbing up the wet rocks and such. But worth it. The scenery was awesome, and at the end we saw two moose just hanging out.

Old Foto Friday

Eldon Cleon Perkes, my grandpa. Today would have been his 96th Birthday. He passed away when I was young and I sadly don't have any memories of him. Below is my mom's tribute to him today.

Today is my dad's birthday. He would have been 96 years old. He was the best dad in the world. He was a spud farmer in Idaho who loved his job, his family and the gospel. Him and my mother taught all 7 of their daughters how to work hard but also showed us how to have fun. We spent many days helping dad on the farm doing what any boy could do. After a hard days work during the summer, we headed to the baseball field to play and watch games. My dad loved baseball! My dad would help any one in need and ask nothing in return. I wish my kids would have been able to have known him. He passed away a year and half after mother died. We always say he died of a broken heart. I have missed you a lot over the last 25 years, dad. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!! LOVE YOU!! --Pamela Perkes Anderson

The 2012 Emmys

Some of my favorite things about the 2012 Emmys:

Update: Thank you to my friend Jeff for reminding me that Daniel Faraday was a presenter, as he won Best Guest Actor, Drama, and I nearly freaked out, losing all brain function for a little while; I might have a small crush on Daniel Faraday (his real name is Jeremy Davies, FYI)
--Idaho, the great state I lived in for all of my formative years, was name-checked twice; first for Philo T. Farnsworth creating the television and therefore making the awards show possible, and then Aaron Paul, who won for Breaking Bad, shouted-out that he was just a kid from Idaho
--nerdy Jonathan from Buffy the Vampire Slayer becoming a screenwriter and winning an Emmy for Game Change
--Kevin Costner won, on whom I had a massive crush when I was about 10. See: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
--my friend Jeff live-tweeted the event
--Jon Hamm sadly lost. Again. That's five in a row. I guess he'll have to settle for his beard.
--Julianne Moore's dress (yellow was a hot color, but hers was the BEST)

Old Foto Friday

January 1991, again at our first house in Pocatello (the yellow one at the end of the street). This was our first winter in Poky, and if I remember it was rather mild. I love that Max is in the picture, too.

Book Club: Kill Me Softly

This month for Book Club we read Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross. I struggled getting into this book, but once things started getting revealed I was interested enough to keep reading. The story is essentially a retelling of the fairy tale Bluebeard, which I had not heard of, with lots of others mixed in, including Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Red Riding Hood and Beauty and the Beast. The book takes on the thought that fairy tales are essentially curses, where one is bound to follow through on it whether they want to or not. The idea of free will in spite of circumstances out of your control was an interesting point of conversation. Overall, no one loved it or hated it.

(We missed Pammy! I left early to watch the BYU/Utah game! Cat took a photo but I don't think I'll ever see it!)

Y Fan, U Student

When I was growing up, every November meant Thanksgiving and BYU/Utah football. My dad was a graduate of the Y so we were all naturally die-hard Cougar fans. I never thought I would attend the U, let alone get two degrees from them.

But life has a way of turning out not as we expect, and in November 2006 I was a senior at the University of Utah. I decided to take advantage of my student status and get tickets to the BYU/Utah football game. I knew that if I was going to be sitting in the student section with my Y sweatshirt I would need backup, so I got a ticket for me and a ticket for my brother.

I had had this gut feeling that my brother for some reason wouldn't be able to make it the days leading up to the game. So when I got a phone call from him early on the morning of the game, I wasn't too surprised. I was, however, a little panicked as I needed someone to go with me, preferably male who could protect me from those crazy Ute fans. I called my cousin Rick. He turned me down because he had some date with a girl that day. I was annoyed--I mean this was the BYU/Utah game!--but since he ended up marrying her it was probably a good choice :).

At this point I was desperate to find someone to go with me. I called my stepsister, as she was a student at the U, to see if she knew of anyone. She miraculously came through not only with a dude to take the ticket, but he was also a Y fan! (If we ended up dating this would be the coolest story ever, but he was married)

When I walked into the student section and proceeded up the stairs with my blue Y sweatshirt I got a few dirty looks and calls. But at least my companion was also a Y fan. The game was difficult at times, and at one point my companion and I thought about leaving early because we didn't want to be in the stand with those crazy Utes when the game ended. Man are we glad we stayed.

John Beck threw a touchdown to Jonny Harline with no time left. And we won the game! I started jumping up and down, high-fiving the few Y fans around me. The dude and I, who had only met just hours before, hugged and celebrated in the middle of the Utah student section. It was so completely awesome. AWE-SOME.

Old Foto Friday

Jared's baptism, 1988. Jared, Em, Me, dad and Aunts Debra and Saundra (my mom's sisters).
My mom informed me that Jared was baptized in 1987. Em was in 1988.

State Fair

Wednesday night Em and I went to the Utah State Fair. We had some awesome fair food, including chicken ranch pitas, curly fries and Tiger Ear scones (they call them Elephant Ears here in Utah, but they're better in Idaho and we call them Tiger Ears).

We watched the exciting horse pull, saw the sheep, goats and cows, and marveled at the amazing quilts. The fair is awesome.

A Solitary Adventure

I really like hanging out with people. But I also really like doing things by myself. Yesterday was, as  my cousin Phaedra puts it, a day for solitary adventure. I could've called various people to do these activities with me, but I just felt like having a day to myself. I did my training for the 5k I'm doing in October in the morning, extending the length so I could see the temple; I hit up the Avenues Street Fair and bought some kettle corn and awesome owl earrings; went to my friend Mary's wedding reception in West Valley (which brought back some crazy memories from when my sister and I first moved to Salt Lake and Mary was one of the first friends I made in my ward); and then, because I didn't feel like going home, I made my way to the Broadway Theater to catch a showing of Celeste and Jesse Forever. It's a bittersweet movie that sadly I could relate to.

Old Foto Friday

Grandma and Grandpa Anderson visiting us at our yellow house at the end of the street on Ardella in Pocatello for my baptism. May 1991.

Selling to Me

Trying to sell something to someone can be a difficult task. I know that I'm awful at it. But there's one thing that I do know: I will never be convinced to buy your product or vote for you or change my ways if your selling point is ragging on your competitor. Tell me what your product can do that's amazing, tell me what you can do that's amazing, tell me why your way is awesome. Tell me what you can do, not what is so awful about your competitor.

(Disclaimer: I know this comes off as a political rant, but I've had this thought in my head for awhile, and it stems from a lot of things, like my best friend buying a Kindle because the salesperson's pitch for the Nook was basically bashing the Kindle. Obviously, though, it can be applied to politics, religion, what school to attend, what job to take, who to marry,.....)

Owl Craft

I have a thing for owls. So when I saw a super cute owl wreath on Pinterest I wanted it for myself. I corralled my mom and sister into doing it, too. It was a lot of work wrapping the yarn around the styrofoam wreath, and it was sometimes challenging figuring out the owl without a proper cutout. But they turned out great and the fruit of my labor is now hanging on my door.

Five Years Post the City

Five years ago today I arrived in New York City, with no clue what I was really getting into.